Months after Novak Djokovic pulled off a stunning win over Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Australian Open, the two have set up a thrilling rematch in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Ahead of their blockbuster showdown, Sinner shared his thoughts on facing the 24-time Grand Slam champion with his title defense on the line.
The highly anticipated clash will also mark a rematch of their semifinal battle at last year’s grass-court Major, where the Italian secured a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Jannik Sinner Looks Ahead to Wimbledon Semifinal Against Novak Djokovic
Sinner booked his spot in the final four with a 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarterfinals. He then turned his attention to the outcome of Djokovic’s showdown with Felix Auger-Aliassime to discover his Wimbledon semifinal opponent.
Reflecting on the possibility of facing Djokovic during his post-match press conference, the world No. 1 denied the notion of any lingering impact from his Australian Open loss to the Serb.
“First of all, let’s see. He has a tough match. If it’s Novak, I feel like every match is different. Even when I had this small streak with him, I felt like every match has really its own story. And especially when you play in a surface like this. If you have a bad serving day or are not feeling the ball very well, it’s going to be very very tough,” Sinner said.
The Italian expressed delight at being back in the semifinals, while also acknowledging Djokovic’s pedigree as a seven-time Wimbledon champion. He recognized that the 39-year-old knew exactly how to navigate a challenging match at SW19 but emphasized that he was ready to fight for every point if they were to meet.
“In any case, I’m happy to be back in the semis. I’m happy to fight for every ball and then we see, I mean more I cannot do. He has won this tournament so many times and he knows exactly how to approach it. I’m looking forward to it,” he added. “I’m happy to be there as a semifinalist once again here and trying to play the best possible tennis I can.”
With two days to recover before the semifinals, Sinner revealed that he would make time to watch Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime’s clash, even though he believed the eventual winner would employ different tactics against him.
“Of course I’m going to watch. I like to watch tennis in any case. I also know that it is different because whoever I’m going to play, it’s going to be a different match with me or with anyone else because of certain tactical stuff,” he said.
“It’s going to be a good match to watch as well. After it’s a bit different because we have two days off. It’s going to be a very relaxed day tomorrow. A little bit harder the next day again. Then hopefully be ready for the semifinals,” he added.
Jannik Sinner was not the only one keeping a close eye on Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime’s quarterfinal, as Carlos Alcaraz also enjoyed the showdown. They were treated to a thriller as Djokovic secured a 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(10-4) victory after a 5-hour, 15-minute battle, setting up a meeting with Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals.
